Forks Supervisors Approve Sewer Fee For Developers

The Forks Township Board of Supervisors last night unanimously passed a resolution requiring all developers to pay a tap-on fee to the township's municipal sewer authority.

The board's action was prompted by a study in January by P.S.C. Co., an engineering firm hired by the authority to conduct a sewer study in the township. The study concluded that a tap-on fee may be necessary to generate funds so that the sewer system could absorb the township's rapid residential and commercial growth.

According to the resolution, both developers and property owners who wish to connect to existing township sewer lines will be charged $1,000 per equivalent dwelling unit. For homes, churches and municipal buildings, only one EDU unit will be charged. However, for retail stores and offices, one EDU will be charged for every 3,500 square feet.

Shopping malls and restaurants will be charged one EDU for every 2,200 square feet.

Township solicitor Karl Kline said that developers will have the option of paying 25 percent of their total tapping fee, and then pay the remaining 75 percent over a period of two years at 8 percent interest on the unpaid balance. There is a 5 percent penalty if the payment is late, and an $80 service charge.

The resolution also says that the owner of a building or property for which a tapping fee has been paid will be entitled to discharge a maximum of 280 gallons of wastewater per day. This quantity will be based on quarter- annual water meter readings and the number of EDUs allocated for the structure or property.

If there is excess discharge, $1,000 will be charged per 200 gallons.

Board Chairman Ritchey Ricci said the revenue generated from the fees will be used for the operation and maintenance of the township's sewer system, adding that he wasn't sure of any negative reaction from developers concerning the resolution.

In other business, the board:

- Established a special meeting on June 2 at 7 p.m. to consider changing the zoning ordinance to raise the minimum lot size to three acres.

- Hired both Scott L. Happel of 1552 Spring Garden St., Easton, and Kenneth Dougherty of 2205 Meadow Lane Drive, Easton, as part-time police officers. Their pay was set at $6.50 per hour.

- Instructed Kline to develop a proposed ordinance that would permit police to ticket motorists who violate fire/emergency lanes at public markets and stores.

- Established the municipal building, 1606 Sullivan Trail, as the polling center for the May 19 primary election.

- Discussed a recycling program, and instructed board secretary Stanley Kocher Jr. to write letters to both state legislators and Northampton County regarding the best method to develop a municipal recycling program.